Live Fast, Die Young - Chapter One

Riding a motorcycle was like a dream, like a dream where you could fly without ever leaving the ground. Like a dream, because in dreams you don't get pulled over for speeding, in dreams you don't have to attend DMV sponsored classes for reckless driving.

That's what got Sophia here, in the conference room of some shit hotel just outside of Charming California. AC on full blast chilling her to the bone, the monotone voice of a middle aged woman putting her to sleep. Four hours into the eight hour class they were about to break for lunch. Sophia rung her hands in her lap before snatching her helmet up off the table in front of her and sprinting out the door as soon as their teacher had announced lunch break.

Back under the hot California sun Sophia was happy to let the chill burn off her body. Her leather jacket heated up under the sun but she refused to take it off, knowing that she'd be better off overheating now in preparation for her return to the arctic tundra that was her destination for the day. Leaning against her bike, a Harley Iron 883, Sophia pulled on her sunglasses and debated ditching the last half of class, but resisted the urge knowing that she would only have to pay for it later.

The rest of the class all seemed to have to same idea, milling about in the deserted parking lot trying to warm up as soon as possible. Class quickly separated into natural groups: high school aged kids chatting idly, speedsters all admiring each others cars, a group of three older women who were no doubt only taking the class for the insurance deductible, and a group of bikers that had parked two spots down from her, chain smoking the boredom away.

It didn't take a genius to know they were bikers, the line of perfectly parked Harley's, all covered in Sons of Anarchy MC decals, would tip off a blind man, even if they didn't have their kuttes on Sophia knew these guys weren't to be messed with.

"Fuck this shit man, I'm going out of my fucking mind!" One of the Sons all but screamed before taking a long pull on his cigarette, wild black hair all over the place and electric blue eyes scanning the horizons.

"Going out of your mind?" Another responded, his voice deep and scratchy, resembling that of a 70 year old man who smoked two packs a day for the last 60 years of his life.

"You wanna go, Killa?" The first one responded, stomping out his cigarette and raising his fists, a look of mirth in his eyes. The two began to square up, fists raised ready to throw down in a hotel parking lot.

"Knock it off, ya fools." The third, and final member of their little posse voiced up, stubbing his cigarette out with the toe of his boot. He had an accent Sophia couldn't place the location of, but knew he was either Scottish or Irish.

As they simmered down Sophia took to examining the chipped nail polish on her finger nails. That along with the scrapes and scratches covering her hands gave Sophia the appearance of living a hard life. But that wasn't the truth of it, not really at least. Sophia's a mechanic by day, and an adrenaline junkie by night, so when she wasn't fixing shit up she was usually tearing it down.

A slight breeze blew in from the west, pushing a cloud of smoke towards her, the Sons having started up another round of cigarettes. Sophia tried to hold her breath, not wanting to be tempted by the smell of nicotine.

"Sorry 'bout that, Darlin'" the accented one called over to her, clearly mistaking her concentration for disgust.

Sophia let out her breath in a woosh while simultaneously rising up from where she had been leaning against her bike. "I'll accept your apology, but only if you let me bum one off ya?" She smirked, waltzing over to them, after she slung her helmet over the handlebars of her bike.

"My pleasure." He replied, offering her a cigarette before extending his lighter to her. "Names Chibs." He supplied, taking back his lighter.

Sophia extended her hand before offering her name, "Sophia, and your friends are?" She questions raising an eyebrow in the direction of the two men who were still eyeing each other up, clearly still debating if they should fight in the parking lot.

"That'd be Tigger and Happy."

"Bullshit." Sophia responded, chucking as she exhaled smoke from her lungs.

"Cross my heart, baby." The one Chibs had called Tigger, said, crossing his heart and winking at her.

Sophia inhaled one last time, holding the smoke in for as long as she could, savoring it before blowing big all out her nose with a shake of her head. "Y'all are ridiculous."

"Y'all?" Tigger asked, raising a brow, "Please tell me your a true southern belle."

"Psh. Fuck no, the accents just tacked on from childhood. 'Sides you wouldn't know a southern belle if you were one?"

"You mean I'm not?" He laughed, stubbing our his cigarette before turning to head back into the class.

"So what are you in for sweetheart?" Tigger asked, leading the band of misfits inside.

"Reckless speeding, and y'all?"

"Birds of a feather it would seem, lassie!" Chibs slung an arm over her shoulder, pulling her in the direction of the table they had been sitting at in the back of the room.

"I'd hope not..." Sophia mumbled under her breath, before taking a seat between Chibs and the ironically named Happy.

Chibs laughed, seeming to have caught on that she knew who they really were, while Happy shot her a murderous glare. Sophia swallowed the lump that formed instantly in her throat and silently rejoiced when their teacher rose up before the class.

The second half of their class was just as boring as the first half of class, and almost impossibly colder then the first half as well. Sophia did her best to pay attention to the woman teaching, knowing there was a test at the end of the class that you had to pass or else you'd have to sit through the class again. But for the life of her she couldn't shake the feeling that Happy was staring her down. Sophia was too chickenshit to actually look so instead she self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest and twisted one of the rings on her fingers. At the end of class after they had all turned in their tests they were permitted a 15 minute smoke break while the teacher graded their tests by hand.

Sophia mentally applauded herself when she turned down the cigarette Chibs offered her, choosing instead to chew nervously on her lip, hopefully counteracting her need to take him up on his offer.

"Tryna quit?" This came from Happy, who stood off to her left, staring her down while lighting his cigarette.

"What gave me away? I know I fidget like a motherfucker." Sophia laughed twisting her ring around her finger.

"Bar afterwards, yeah?" Chibs asked, though it seemed he wasn't really asking his friends, which meant he must have been asking her.

"Hm?" She startled, looking up from where she had been toeing the ground with her boot, "I have work in the morning, sorry though." A nervous smile and a tug at the ring on her finger.

"What'd'ya do?" Tigger asked her this time.

Sophia peeked up at the mention of work, a topic she knew would distract her from wanting to smoke, "I'm a mechanic. I work at a little mom and pop shop a couple miles off 50, up towards the mountain."

"A mechanic, ya don't say?" Chibs shared a smirk with the boys before turning back to Sophia, "Aye I think we'll be friends yet."

"Why's that?" She asked skeptically.

"Cars and bikes?" Chibs asked, ushering her back into the hotel.

"Specialize in bikes. Harley certified mechanic, but I know my way around a car well enough, why?"

Chibs ignored her, instead turning to his brothers and looking for their approval, which was granted quickly. "Look here lass, we just opened up a new shop ourselves and we've been having trouble finding staff, if your interested I'd like to make you an offer. Now we'd like to see your work a bit, trial basis, starting tomorrow? What'd"ya say?"

As much as Sophia wanted to say no thank you she knew that she couldn't, as much as she loved the elderly couple she worked for they simply didn't pay enough, especially if these guy offered more.

"How much?" Sophia questioned, poker face firmly in place.

"$16."

"No." Sixteen was barely more then she made now, and not worth leaving her current job for. She hoped that Chibs was just low balling her to see if she actually knew her own worth.

Happy let out a growl, which Sophia promptly ignored. Instead she turned to Chibs raised a brow at him and made to walk away. She hadn't even finished turning on her heel when she was yanked back around by a hand curled around her bicep.

Sophia shook her arm from Happy's grasp, "Quit that shit, will ya?" she snarled in his direction, taking a step to her right. Sophia checked her watch before turning back around and heading in to the hotel again, but not before shooting her own murderous glare at Happy.

After everyone had piled back into the classroom their teacher rose from her seat at the front of the room and began to hand out their graded tests. Sophia passed, not bothering to check if the guys passed theirs as well she gathered her stuff and made her way towards the exit.

"Listen lass, stop by tomorrow, just give it a test run, after I see your work we can negotiate pay. I wouldn't be begging if we didn't seriously need the help." Chibs handed her a business card with the name 'Anarchy Automotive' written on it, along with an address and telephone number.

Sophia pocketed the card before approaching her bike and storing her purse in her saddle bag. "What time do you want me there, tomorrow morning?" She asked pulling her jacket off to store it in the saddle bag on the other side of the bike, promptly silencing anything Chibs might have been about to say.

Sophia wore a white tank top with the black outline of a skull on the front, she neatly tucked the back of her shirt into her black jeans, ensuring that it wouldn't fly up while she was riding.

"Thats some ink, you got there, Sweetheart." Tigger smiled, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Happy let out a low whistle but that was the only indication she got that he found the work covering her arms and chest impressive.

The work being a full sleeve covering her left arm in hyper-realistic sunflowers, her right arm being covered in patchwork style tattoos she had picked up over the years. And spanning the top of her chest from collarbone to collarbone written in a bold style were the words 'Live Fast, Die Young' surrounded by a design that none of the guys could quite make out from where they were standing. Curiously enough a tattoo also graced the back of her neck, written in sharp black lines was the word 'Familia'.

"Before ten, if you can." Chibs said, finally regaining his concentration, he had turned to his own bike now and pulled his kutte from the saddle bag. He unfolded it and neatly dusted it off before throwing it around his shoulders. The other guys followed in a similar fashion, throwing their kuttes on over their regular clothes.

It was Sophia's turn to let out a low whistle when Chibs, Happy, and Tigger turned around revealing a President, VP, and SAA patch, respectively. Sophia may not have been in an MC but she'd been around enough to know what those patches meant, and to know that it was no easy feat getting to be in those positions.

"I'll be there."

Pulling her helmet and sunglasses on, Sophia started up her bike and gave the guys a nod before revving her engine and tearing out of the parking lot at break neck speeds.


I'm just gonna leave this here, lemme know what y'all think, if I should carry on or not.